Whiskey Smash

A successful cocktail requires a bit of alchemy. Take a few disparate ingredients, and whip them together to make something unique and delicious. The whiskey smash, first created 150 years ago and currently enjoying a renaissance with bartenders, is the perfect example. After all, whiskey's a hard drink. But when muddled with some lemon and fresh mint, that biting whiskey sting is unexpectedly lighter and brighter. Refreshing even. And yet it still has the throwback charm and tough guy appeal of enjoying a simple whiskey drink. What's more, it's open to interpretation. Experiment with a dash a bitters. Swap the mint for rosemary or the lemon for a tart apple. You're the alchemist now.

The Recipe

Ingredients

2-3 lemon quarters

3 sprigs of fresh mint

1 oz. simple syrup

1 ½ oz. whiskey

Directions

Muddle two of the lemon pieces, four or five mint leaves and the syrup in a shaker.

Add the whiskey and some ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a rocks glass with ice.